Cultural Legacies of Ancient Civilizations - Minoans - Public Peace & Ritual Violence
The Minoans, a prosperous, peaceful island people in the Mediterranean region, influenced the Greeks, as seen in the Greek Minotaur and Theseus myth. Minoan art suggests a peaceful life without war, with violence sublimated in their bull-worship rituals.
Cultural Legacies of Ancient Civilizations - Mayans - Deception By Temple Rituals
The Mayan Empire was supported by sophisticated mathematical and astronomical knowledge. These ideas were integrated with their religious sacrificial practices, as in their life-or-death ball games.
Cultural Legacies of Ancient Civilizations - Khmers - Creating Heaven on Earth
The Khmer Empire, now modern Cambodia, was largely unknown until the nineteenth-century discovery of the ruins of Angkor Wat, an astonishing temple complex. Long abandoned, its huge and beautiful symmetry reveals it as an attempt to create a Hindu concept of Heaven, here on earth.
Cultural Legacies of Ancient Civilizations - Egyptians - Conflicting Visions of Immortality
The Egyptian pharaohs tried to create immortality for their god-king legacy. They attempted it with mummification and huge tombs, but most were destroyed by grave robbers and the passage of time.
For thousands of years, people have been intrigued by the bright red “star” that blazes in the night sky for a few months every other year. The color reminded many ancient civilizations of war, fire, and blood...
